


Detention

by FrozenSnares



Series: Benefits of Detention [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cute, F/M, Fluff, I'll write more, Some Swearing, but this is fluffy, eventually, i wrote a thing, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 04:51:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2800208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSnares/pseuds/FrozenSnares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rickon was a troublemaker: Constantly in detention for picking fights and breaking things, constantly grounded for sneaking out and breaking things. Everyone thought he did it for attention, and they had been right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The extremely lovely [jillypups](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Jillypups) made this fantastic [picset](http://jillypups.tumblr.com/post/113979823588/detention-by-frozensnares-happy-birthday-lovely) for this work!

Rickon was in trouble. This time for speaking out in class. For some reason, his teacher decided that two weeks of detention was an appropriate punishment.

Rickon frowned as he slumped into the seat furthest from the door. He was used to the treatment. All the teachers looked at him funny now. That’s just what happens when you’re fresh out of some correction school for troubled boys on the promise that you wouldn't cause trouble again. It was his fault, he supposed. After his last altercation ended with three kids in the hospital, people were bound to treat him differently.

He pulled out a paper in attempt to look busy, hoping he could get though the day and that his parents wouldn't notice his tardiness. They had other things to worry about. He was just another problem for them to get rid of anyway.

”Rickon Stark?”

Rickon glanced up. A small girl with dark hair was sitting by the door. She had a stack of papers on the desk that she seemed to be checking.

”Yeah?” He called.

”Just making sure we're in the right room,” she said, going back to the papers.

Great. Rickon had a sitter for his detention. And his teacher hadn't bothered to be here. He got someone else to do it. “You’re a student?” Rickon asked, hoping he might be able to have a nice conversation at least.

“Yes,” she responded, turning only slightly toward him.

Rickon still couldn’t see her face. “What’s your name?”

“You’re in detention, Mr. Stark.”

“That’s a lousy name.”

He could practically hear her eyes rolling, and he smirked.

“I expect silence in detention, Mr. Stark,” she said.

Rickon caught the smallest glimpse of a smile on her face. He decided to drop the conversation and just let the time pass. Unfortunately, detention passed slowly. Rickon watched the girl pick up a sheet of paper, look over it, make some marks on it, and put it in a different pile. Then, she would do it again. It seemed like a waste of time for both of them. No one would care about his high school grades ten years from now. What was the point?

“Shireen.”

Rickon snapped to attention. He had been watching the movements of her fingers every time she put a paper down. “What?”

“My name is Shireen,” she said slowly. “And I’m finished, so you’re welcome to leave.”

Rickon watched her leave the classroom in a state of shock. What had just happened? He jumped up and ran to the door, looking for her outside, but she was gone.

Rickon made up some excuse for coming home late - anything to get his parents off his back - trying to make friends, or something. He just wanted normalcy, which seemed to be impossible for his family. Six kids and a multitude of problems. Rickon had tried to exercise the freedom that granted him, but he always acted out. He got away with it most of the time anyway.

For some reason, Rickon found himself looking forward to detention the next day. He decided that he actually needed to see Shireen, and he hoped that doing so would dispel whatever was wrong with him. As he got to his detention, he chose a seat slightly closer to the door, but he was utterly disappointed when his teacher showed up.

"Trying to get out quickly?” Mr. Flint said, eyeing his choice of seat.

Rickon knew better to respond. Maybe the student helper was a one-time thing. He would have to tolerate the remainder of his detentions.

"Sorry, I'm late.”

Rickon jumped slightly in his seat, trying not to look too excited about her. He looked up a few seconds later, but she was already seated.

“Completely acceptable, Shireen,” Mr. Flint said, getting ready to leave. “Thank you for assisting me this week.”

Shireen nodded as Mr. Flint left, and she began the process of grading papers again.

“So you’re only here this week?” Rickon asked, moving to a closer seat.

“For now.” Shireen picked up another paper and began marking it up.

“Do you grade papers every day?” Rickon asked, hoping he could get her talking.

Shireen hesitated, letting out a small sigh. “Do you turn in homework every day?” she responded.

Rickon snorted. “No.”

“Well, your classmates probably do,” Shireen said shortly.

Rickon began bouncing in his seat, trying to think of something to keep her talking. He decided on the truth. “I do my homework every day,” he admitted. “I just don’t turn it in.”

This time, Shireen snorted. “Not good for your reputation?”

Rickon shrugged. “I don’t need someone to tell me that I know how to do things. I already know I can do them.”

Shireen graded five more papers before responding. “Well, it makes more sense to get credit for the effort, I think. Especially if you’ve already done the work.”

She turned slightly toward him, before jerking back to the papers.

Rickon tried to move closer to her silently, but he tripped over a chair. “Shit.”

“You’re in detention, Rickon,” Shireen said. “I expect silence.”

Rickon quickly sat in the chair closest to her, one seat behind her in the next row over. “You know, you’re kind of in detention, too,” he pointed out.

“But I choose to be here,” she countered.

“Why’s that?” Rickon asked. “Pretty girl like you can’t get a date?”

Immediately, he knew he said the wrong thing. Shireen visibly tensed, and Rickon could tell that she was forcing her movements to look natural. But Rickon knew those actions. He had used them before. He knew that some part of her was screaming at him on the inside.

Rickon swallowed his pride. “Go ahead,” he said. “Yell at me. Tell me what I did wrong.” He kept a steady gaze on her, no longer struck by curiosity. He simply wanted to appease her and make her happy again.

“Just stay quiet, Rickon.”

He obeyed, hoping that she wasn’t one of those girls that asked for the opposite of what they wanted. He pulled up his backpack and pulled out a piece of paper. He quickly doodled a sad direwolf and scribbled “I’m sorry” next to it. He folded it up and tossed it onto her desk.

Shireen ignored the note for fifteen more papers before she unfolded it. She let out a small laugh, turning slightly more toward Rickon. Rickon caught a small glimpse of her face: a small smile with straight teeth, a flushed cheek, and long eyelashes.

“He broke up with me,” Shireen said softly, going back to grading papers.

“Who?” Rickon asked, keeping his tone equally soft.

“Edric – my ex,” she explained. “He transferred to a different school and didn’t want to try long-distance.”

Rickon bit his tongue. Usually, he’d comment on how stupid her ex was, but he’d learned from Sansa that that wasn’t what girls wanted to hear. “Well, he missed out,” Rickon said slowly.

Shireen let out a bitter laugh. “Or he was trying to cut me off nicely,” she said. “I thought he loved me… but whatever. I don’t need his pity.”

Rickon frowned. “Why would he pity you?”

He could tell that Shireen was testing herself, but he didn’t want to push her too far. He was genuinely curious.

She turned to him sharply. “Look at me, Rickon!” 

Rickon had been planning on memorizing her face the second he saw it. All plans for that immediately went out the window. He couldn’t even look at her whole face. He was captivated entirely by her eyes. Shireen had eyes that were the brightest blue he had ever seen. Nothing could do them justice. Someone could wax poetic all day and never capture just how blue her eyes were. Sapphires were probably jealous. Rickon didn’t realize he was staring until she made a face. He quickly turned to the side.

“You didn’t jump.” Shireen sounded confused.

Rickon blinked. “What?” He looked back to Shireen, trying to ignore her eyes and actually see her face. She looked like a regular, pretty girl. Sure, there was some gray thing covering her left cheek , going up to her temple and down her neck slightly. Rickon tried to look at her honestly, but he was quickly pulled back to her eyes. “Yeah,” he rushed out. “Right. You’re right. My bad. It’s horrible. Have you seen your eyes?”

Shireen looked confused. “Of course I have,” she said. “But I try to ignore mirrors.”

“Such a shame,” Rickon said. “Your eyes are beautiful.”

It took a few seconds for him to realize what he said. His eyes widened, and he could feel his cheeks burning. Shireen had her eyebrows raised at him.

“Shit,” Rickon said, staring at the floor. “I didn’t mean to… I wanted to… I mean… I meant that… Just ignore me.”

Rickon stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away, starting at the decorations in the classroom. After what he thought was five minutes later, he glanced back at Shireen. She was still gazing intently at him.

“What?” Rickon asked.

“You didn’t jump,” Shireen repeated. “Or look away.”

Rickon shrugged. It really didn’t seem like a big deal to him. Sure, there was something on her face, but it wasn’t worth looking at when you could be paying attention to her eyes. And after meeting Sansa’s boyfriend Sandor, it really wasn’t even jarring.

“It’s not a big deal,” Rickon muttered.

A wide smile grew across Shireen’s face as she went back to grading papers. “Everyone else thinks it is,” she said.

“Even your friends?” Rickon asked, suddenly curious about other aspects of her life.

Shireen nodded. “I’m pretty sure they’re only friends with me because they’re hoping it’ll get them somewhere,” she said.

Rickon stretched out on his desk, trying to lean forward enough to see her eyes again. With his head on the far edge, he could just make out the blue. “Why’s that?” Rickon asked.

“I’m a Baratheon,” Shireen said. “They probably just want to go to parties and meet people.”

“Oh.”

Rickon tried to think it through. He knew the name. Everyone knew the name. “So Robert is… your dad?”

“Uncle,” Shireen corrected. “But the message is still there.”

Rickon didn't know what to say. He didn't want to accidentally hurt her again, or say something that would make her think he pities her. And he was still trying to figure out why he cared so much. He didn't even know her that well.

"Sucks for them,” Rickon said at last. "You seem really cool.”

"Thanks, Rickon.” Shireen looked over at him and gave him a smile.

Rickon swallowed. Something was fluttering in his stomach, and he was pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen. He felt his cheeks flush and he immediately tried to counter the reaction. He looked away and put his hands in the pocket of his sweater, pinching himself. "Yeah, well, it's just the truth,” he said.

Shireen laughed, going back to grading. ”You seem pretty cool, too,” she said. ”And you can leave if you want. Technically, I decide how long your detention is this week.”

"Really?” Rickon questioned. It made sense since Mr. Flint wasn't there, but it still sounded strange.

"Yup,” Shireen said. ” You can leave whenever.”

Rickon looked over to her pile of work that still needed to be completed.

"I think I'll stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first posted work! Yay! Let me know if you like it. This can stand-alone, but I do have more planned. I'll try to update soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next two days, Rickon spent his detentions talking to Shireen. He was trying to get to know her better and justify the feeling he kept getting in his stomach. He also started to notice more things about her: she was petite, she tapped her feet while she worked, she twirled her pencil while she was thinking, and she always sat with her left side to the wall.

He also learned that she liked to read, wanted to study literature, came from an old house, had no siblings, liked animals, and never had a pet.

“No pets?” Rickon asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked up from his backpack. He had been digging out all his old assignments at her request.

“Nope,” Shireen confirmed.

“Then, you should come over sometime,” Rickon said. “Everyone in my family has a dog. And they're massive - bred with wolves. You can meet Lady first, she's my sister's.”

Shireen raised her eyebrows at him. ”Not yours?”

“Uh, Shaggy doesn't really like people,” Rickon said, remembering how much trouble Shaggydog caused last month, and how he would only listen to Bran and Rickon.

“So I'm invited over?” Shireen asked.

Rickon shrugged. “I don't see why not,” he said. He backpedaled immediately. “Actually, no. Don't do that. I've never brought a girl home before. They'll probably think you're my girlfriend or something.”

Shireen laughed, and Rickon looked out the window. He was biting his lip, trying not to think about what that would be like. He trusted his family not to stare at Shireen, but they were bound to ask questions. Rickon hadn't even tried to beach that subject yet.

“I could pretend to be your tutor,” Shireen suggested. “I'm sure you have some hidden homework at home.”

“Definitely not,” Rickon said. That was the exactly opposite of how he wanted things with Shireen to go. He stopped himself mid-thought. She was a senior. Graduating this summer and going off to college. He shouldn't want anything with her. And she definitely shouldn't want anything with some freshman straight out of correction school.

“A walk in the park, maybe?” Shireen went on, oblivious to Rickon's internal debate.

“Sure,” he said. “But Shaggy runs really fast.”

Shireen nodded, grading the last paper in her pile. When she finished, she turned to face Rickon. “First, you have to tell me why you named your dog after the human in Scooby-Doo,” she said.

Rickon laughed, clutching onto his backpack. “His full name is Shaggydog.” Seeing the disbelief on Shireen's face, he explained, “I named him when I was four. I didn't know how to name a dog.”

“I know a few four-year-olds who can,” Shireen said, tapping her chin in mock thought.

Rickon rolled his eyes, tossing his homework at Shireen. He couldn't help the smile growing across his face. Shireen was easy to talk to, and he was sure he wasn't trying to think that. He especially liked watching all of her expressions now that she actually let him see her face. Not to mention that there was something about her that made him calmer and less volatile.

Shireen leaned back in her chair, stretching out. Rickon glanced over and his jaw went slack. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing a small stretch of her stomach. He let his eyes roam upward, finding the small swell of her breasts and the smooth stretch of her collarbone. Rickon wanted to touch it.

Heat began moving throughout Rickon’s body, and he forced himself to look away. Fuck. This was getting out of hand. He should probably figure out what was going on soon, or else he could get himself into deep trouble.

“So is this all the work you have?” Shireen asked, sorting through his papers.

“There might be some in my locker,” Rickon thought out loud. “And I’m pretty sure that some are at home.”

“Let’s go get it,” Shireen said, standing and picking up the stack of graded papers.

“From my house?”

“From your locker,” Shireen said. “You can get the work at your house later, and I’ll pick it up when I meet Shaggydog.”

Shireen followed Rickon to his locker, taking every shred of homework he had done this year. She had everything of his carefully organized into a folder and paper-clipped into different sections.

“What are you going to do with all that?” Rickon asked, putting his backpack on again.

“We’ll figure that out later,” Shireen said. “I just wanted to know if you were lying.”

Rickon put a hand over his heart in mock pain. “You wound me, Shireen,” he said, mostly to test out saying her name.

“Can you blame me?” she countered. “You have quite a reputation. What did you do anyway?”

Rickon shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that, Shireen,” he said. “I have to know you for at least a week before you can unlock my tragic backstory.”

Shireen laughed. “Same for you, then,” she said. “One week, Rickon. Then, you’re mine.”

Rickon’s heart skipped a beat. Impulsively, he felt like he should make a joke, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to risk anything with Shireen. She had somehow become worth too much to him.

Shireen turned to face him. “I’ll see you at the park later?” she asked. “Five-thirty sound good?”

Rickon nodded hastily. When had he ever been lost in thought before? “Yeah, that’s cool,” he choked out.

Shireen raised an eyebrow at him but turned away swiftly. “I’ll see you later.”

Rickon resisted the urge to follow after her, and went home. After all, he had a dog to restrain this evening. And he had to find a way to let his family know without letting them know why. He decided to bring it up casually before dinner. He went around the house until he found his mom reading in the library.

“Hey, mom,” Rickon said nonchalantly. “I was thinking of taking Shaggy out to the park. Some of the kids in my class were talking about getting ice cream. Is that cool?”

Rickon’s mother was not a woman to get on the wrong side of. Catelyn Stark was truly and utterly a mother, and not one to be messed with. She looked up from her book and removed her reading glasses.

“You’re making friends from class, and you want them to meet Shaggy first?” she asked.

Rickon shrugged. “He likes walks anyway,” he said. “And I can keep him in check. He’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

Catelyn narrowed her eyes at Rickon. “If you think you can handle it,” she said. “Just make sure that nothing happens and that you’re home early.”

Rickon nodded quickly, thanked his mother, and went upstairs to dig out his missing homework assignments. He was surprisingly organized. After he finished his homework each night, it went in one of three places: the top drawer of his desk, his backpack, or Shaggydog’s mouth. Unfortunately, Shaggydog was a dog that ate homework, but he hadn’t really done much in the homework-eating department this year.

Rickon quickly did his homework for this night, added it to the homework pile, shoved it into a folder, and got ready to take Shaggydog out to the park. Shaggydog was really jumpy and excited to be going out, but Rickon managed to wrestle him into a collar and leash before they left.

The park was a few blocks away from the Stark’s property, but Rickon and Shaggydog got there quickly, running most of the way. Rickon was hoping to burn out Shaggydog’s energy before he met Shireen. The last thing he needed was this massive ball of fur to knock Shireen over the second they met. As Rickon roamed the park, he started to seriously doubt his planning skills. He hadn’t settled on a location to meet Shireen at, and the part was fairly sizeable.

After circling the park once, he spotted her. She was zipped up in a nicer jacket and seemed to be prepared for the weather to get colder. Rickon grinned and resisted the urge to run over to her. He needed to keep Shaggydog under control, and his dog was already starting to pull toward Shireen.

“Easy, Shaggy,” Rickon called, pulling on the leash a bit. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Shaggydog glanced back at Rickon briefly before turning back to Shireen. Even his dog was more interested in Shireen.

Rickon handed his homework to her in greeting. “As per your request, Lady Baratheon.”

Shireen bit back a laugh and took his work. “Why, thank you, Lord Stark,” she said, tucking it into her bag.

“This is Shaggydog,” Rickon said. “And I’ve already warned you about him, so don’t be surprised if he does anything.”

Shaggydog went around Shireen’s legs slowly, smelling her feet. Shireen froze and stared at Rickon with wide eyes.

“He’s a giant,” Shireen said. “He’s almost a horse. Not a dog.”

Rickon laughed. “Just be glad he hasn’t jumped on you yet.”

A look of fright crossed Shireen’s face before it became steady resolve. She purposely held out a hand for Shaggydog to smell, and he did so quite earnestly. Shireen smiled up at Rickon before she let out a squeak. Shaggydog had licked her hand. Rickon exploded into laughter, but Shireen kept her calm. She even knelt down to pet him and let the dog lick her face, which he did. Shaggydog spared no part of Shireen face, leaving her a little disgusted.

“Just use his fur to wipe it off,” Rickon suggested. “He’s got to learn better somehow.”

Shireen did as he suggested, and they began a slow walk of the perimeter of the park. About halfway around, Shireen spoke. 

“I was a bit surprised, actually,” she admitted. “Most animals have an aversion to that side of my face.”

“What happened?” Rickon asked without thinking. Of course, he shouldn’t have asked her. That was personal, and she shouldn’t feel the need to share.

Shireen just tsked at him. “One week, remember?” she reminded him. “Then, you can have the story.”

Rickon rolled his eyes, secretly glad that she had remembered that. He glanced over at her, catching the blue of her eyes again. He tried to focus on other aspects of her appearance, but no matter what he looked at, the feeling in his stomach just grew stronger.

Her black hair was shining with the light of the sun, and her cheeks were flushed in such a way that Rickon couldn’t tell if she was cold or trying to hide embarrassment. Shireen had her bag in a death grip, and Rickon couldn’t figure out why she was getting so tense. He looked back to the path, and saw a group of boys walking toward them.

Rickon tried to keep walking naturally, until one of the boys crashed into him and whispered, “Really, Stark?”

Even then, he tried to keep going forward with Shireen, but he heard their voices carry from behind him. “I can’t believe he would ever go for such an ugly bitch.”

Immediately, Rickon handed the leash to Shireen, ignoring the protest that she was sure to raise. He turned around and grabbed the middle boy by the collar, pushing him into a tree. He looked straight at Ramsay Bolton. “What did you say?”

Ramsay laughed, looking to his friends. “I said she’s an ugly bitch.”

Rickon heard Shaggydog bark from behind him, and he let out a silent prayer to the gods that Shaggydog wouldn’t attack. 

“If I ever hear anything like that from you again, you’re going to wish I let my dog tear you limb from limb, understand?” Rickon threatened. He let go and began walking back to Shireen before calling, “And she’s much prettier than any girl you’ve ever dated, shitdick.”

He looped Shireen’s arm with his and steered her away from the scene. He looked over to her, and saw that her eyes were slightly wet. He tried to think of something to say, but she beat him to it.

“You really didn’t have to,” Shireen told him. “I’m used to it.”

Rickon snorted. “That’s why I had to,” he said. “Those assholes don’t get to insult people, especially when they’re insulting them with lies. Seriously, who does that?”

He glanced back over to Shireen, who had eased up on her bag.

“You don’t need to protect me,” Shireen said, turning to face him. “I can take care of myself.”

Rickon met her steady gaze. “I know you can,” he said. “But I’m going to anyway. No one gets to hurt you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The positive comments have inspired me to write this up today. At this rate, I'm going to finish soon. I hope you liked it!


	3. Chapter 3

Rickon was determined to see Shireen outside of detention today. Last night had confirmed that she definitely existed outside of detention, but he had yet to see her during normal school hours. They wouldn’t have any classes together, due to their age difference, but Rickon thought he’d have seen her between classes or during lunch by now.

As lunch got closer, Rickon began planning a route to seek her out. No one would think it was too weird if he just showed up, right? Rickon decided to start in the cafeteria, and then he would peek into all the classrooms until he found her. It couldn’t be too hard.

Rickon slid into the cafeteria quietly. No one should pay too much attention to him. He wasn’t exactly a people-person, and people didn’t really want to be friends with someone who came from correction school. He circled the cafeteria once before he headed for the exit. As he was about to leave, he heard her laugh from the other side of the cafeteria. Rickon briefly debated going over, but he hadn’t gone through all this effort for nothing. He’d have to make his presence known.

Shireen was sitting with two other girls. They seemed to be talking about something incredibly amusing because they were all laughing a lot. Rickon waited for the other two girls to go over and get their lunches before he went over. He approached from directly behind her and stole her cookie.

“Chocolate chip, huh?” he asked, taking a bite. “Is that a preference, or just what they had available?”

Shireen shook her head at him, but she was smiling. “A little bit of both,” she said. “And you should really ask for permission first.”

“I’ll get you another one for detention later,” Rickon said, eating the rest of the cookie. “So what was the deal with stealing all my homework?”

Shireen poked at her salad with a fork. “I already told you,” she said. “I wanted to see if you’d actually done it. I’m also taking it to your teachers and seeing if they’ll give you credit for it. Did you know you’ve aced almost every test this year?”

Rickon shrugged. “So what? They’ll still fail me if I don’t turn in my homework.”

“Exactly,” Shireen said. “Stop giving them reasons to. You can probably get into a decent university if you actually turn in your homework. Don’t you want to go to college?”

There was a question Rickon hadn’t thought about in a while. He stopped thinking of college as an option for him after going to correction school, and he wasn’t particularly fond of travelling unnecessarily. However, college could be worth it if a certain person was going to be there. He felt that strange flutter happen in his stomach again. Rickon swallowed thickly, opening his mouth to respond, but Shireen’s friends were returning. Shireen shouldn’t have to deal with that now, he’d just wait until later.

“I’ll tell you during detention,” Rickon said, standing up. “Later.”

Rickon went outside, trying to think of a way to spend the rest of his lunch period. He had already accomplished everything he wanted to do today. Rickon settled underneath a tree, deciding to doze off for the rest of lunch.

He was sleeping quite peacefully until someone crashed into him. They called out a rushed ‘sorry’ before quickly running off. A fight was probably breaking out somewhere. Students flocked to drama the way pigeons flocked to bread. Rickon stretched out, figuring that he’d go see what was going on. He firmly resolved not to get involved, after all, how could they drag him into something that had already started?

Fighting his way through the crowd of people, Rickon managed to get within hearing distance of the people who were yelling.

“It’s all your fault!” someone was saying. “We’re going to lose the game tonight because of you.”

“I didn’t do anything!”

Rickon froze. That was Shireen’s voice. He was sure of it. Rickon started pushing his way to the center of the crowd.

“If you weren’t so ugly, Edric could have broken up with you like a regular person,” the boy was saying. “But he had to feel bad about it and transfer away. All because you’re so fucking ugly.”

Rickon broke through to the center, immediately turning to Shireen. She was hunched down, and he couldn’t see her face. Judging from the way she was shaking, Rickon assumed she was crying. Fury roiled through his body, and he was ready to spring at the offender. He turned to face Ramsay Snow.

“Hey fuckface,” Rickon called. “Maybe if you didn’t play like a fucking idiot, you wouldn’t need to be concerned.”

Ramsay’s frowned deepened. “Shut it, Stark. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know that your face looks like a dick,” Rickon said.

“Rickon, don’t,” he heard Shireen call from behind him. “You can’t.”

Ramsay laughed. “Listen to your ugly little bitch, Stark.”

Rickon’s fist collided with Ramsay’s cheekbone before he finished talking. There was a definite SNAP. Rickon drew back and poised himself for a second blow. “You want to try that again?” he asked.

“STARK!” a much deeper voice called.

The crowd immediately dispersed, leaving only Rickon, Ramsay, and Shireen in the area. Shireen’s face was still wet, and Rickon felt the urge to comfort her. The principal of the school, Mr. Cerwyn was coming toward them. Rickon felt a flare of anger. He was definitely going to get in major trouble for this.

“Now, you know you’re on probation,” Mr. Cerwyn said. “Ramsay, what happened?”

Rickon tried to steady his breathing. If he was going straight to Ramsay for information, Rickon was never going to get out of this. Luckily, Shireen cut in.

“He was trying to help me,” she said. “Ramsay was insulting me. He – he called me an ugly bitch.”

Mr. Cerwyn rolled his eyes. “Sticks and stones, Miss Baratheon,” he said. “You can’t let that kind of talking get to you. You should know better. Now, Mr. Stark, come with me.”

Rickon glanced over to Shireen. He could tell she was holding back more tears. What kind of person told someone to ignore abuse? Someone had to teach him otherwise. He stepped forward until he heard Shireen choke in a sob. She fled.

Something inside Rickon snapped.

“You’re a dick,” Rickon said to his principal. “You can’t ask her to accept abuse. You’re just as much of an asshole as Ramsay is.”

Rickon turned, running off to follow Shireen. He ran in the direction he had seen her go, taking a roundabout route to shake off any authority figures who would be looking for him. Rounding a corner, he saw Shireen ducking into a bathroom, and he quickly followed her in. He stood awkwardly by the doorway as someone washed their hands and waited until she left. Rickon tried to listen for anyone else, not wanted to disturb the privacy of any girls. After a minute, he heard another sob come from one of the stalls.

“Shireen?” he called.

The noise stopped immediately, and Rickon froze again. After a while, he heard some shuffling. 

“Rickon?” Shireen’s voice sounded so weak, and Rickon felt his heart break.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said.

Shireen slowly emerged from the stall, walking straight up to Rickon, she pressed her face into his chest. Rickon wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. He didn’t know what to do. What could he possibly say to make her feel better?

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked.

The bell signaling the end of lunch sounded. Shireen nodded against Rickon’s chest. They needed to leave now, under the cover of everyone going to class. Rickon squeezed Shireen once more before he pulled away, grabbing her hand.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Rickon led Shireen to the back of the school. He figured out his escape from here a long time ago, just in case. He hadn’t exactly been planning on ditching, but he had to be sure he had an escape route. Rickon stopped in front of the fence and easily scaled it, landing on the other side. Shireen looked at him questioningly. Rickon smiled.

“I did think this through,” Rickon said. He reached through the gate, holding out his hands like stairs. “Step up.”

Shireen sighed, but she grabbed onto the fence and stepped onto Rickon’s hands. He carefully moved them up, getting her over the top of the fence. Once she crossed the top, Rickon reached up, holding onto her hips.

“I’ve got you,” he said.

When Shireen released the fence, Rickon set her onto the ground. Shireen had her eyes squeezed shut. Rickon took one of her hands and pulled her after him. Rickon led her back to the park, taking her over to a large tree. He sat down and patted the ground next to him. Instead Shireen fell into his lap. Rickon immediately noticed that she pressed her grayed cheek into his chest. He carefully rolled her over, holding her in place.

“You really don’t have to spare my feelings,” Shireen said. A tear was rolling down her cheek.

“I wasn’t trying to,”’ Rickon said. “I just wanted anyone passing by to see how beautiful you are.”

“Rickon.”

“It’s true,” he said. “You’re beautiful. And it’s about time everyone else realized it.”

Shireen sighed against his chest, and Rickon thought that he could live the rest of his life like this. It didn’t matter what anyone threw at him. He could take it as long as he had Shireen with him.

“Shireen,” Rickon started, but he stopped himself. “Do you want to get ice cream?”

He couldn’t tell her that he loved her. It was too soon. She was too hurt. He didn’t want her to think it was because of anything other than who she actually was. He had to tell her when things were normal. Maybe after he got back from whatever correction school he’d be sent to next. It might be a while, but it wouldn’t be long enough to stop his feelings. What Shireen made him feel was just too much.

“I’d love to,” Shireen said.

She made no move to get up, and Rickon didn’t try to move. They could stay here for now. After all, he might be sent away soon. He was going to spend all the time with Shireen that he possibly could before that. Rickon loosened his grip on Shireen a bit, and she relaxed into his arms. A smile spread across Rickon’s face as Shireen fell asleep.

Belatedly, Rickon realized that he was not in an ideal position. The tree he was leaning against had no lower back support, and his neck was aching from looking down at Shireen. After a while, he felt a phone buzzing between them. Rickon pressed a hand to his pocket to silence his phone, but the noise continued.

Shireen shuffled about to retrieve her phone. She handed it to Rickon and went back to her place against his chest. Rickon glanced at the screen and saw that her dad was calling. He let the phone ring until the call went to voicemail. Then, he put his phone number into her phone, calling himself so he could have her number. He wasn’t planning on calling her unless she discovered his number first. He settled against her once more, resting his head on her soft hair.

They stayed in the park until Shireen woke up a couple hours later. Shireen slowly stretched in his arm, and Rickon released her so she could get up.

“How long has it been?” Shireen asked through a yawn.

Rickon pulled up her phone. “Three hours, I think,” Rickon said. “Your dad called.”

Shireen jumped out of his arms, grabbing her phone in the process. She called her dad and began pacing around the tree.

As Rickon slowly stretched out, he heard snippets of Shireen’s conversation.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she was saying. “Really, Dad, everything’s okay… Yeah, in a little bit… Yes, of course I will… Yeah… Okay… Bye.”  
Shireen let out a heavy sigh before turning to Rickon, moving straight into his arms.

“You okay?” Rickon asked, running his hands across her back.

She nodded against him, pulling away the slightest bit. “I will have to go home eventually,” she said. “But it is Friday, so I can get away with being out a while before we go home.”

Rickon winced. “A poor idea for me,” he groaned. “My parents are going to kill me when I get back.”

“So we don’t have a weekend, even?” Shireen asked.

Rickon thought she sounded a little sad about it, but he was probably projecting his feelings onto the situation. He knew everything would fall apart on Monday at the latest, but he wasn’t going to have any freedom when his parents learned about what happened. He’d just have to deal with whatever came.

He decided to think about the positives for now. “We can still get that ice cream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone leaving nice comments. I love you all. Sorry if this one was too intense.


	4. Chapter 4

The Stark household was eerily quiet over the weekend. Rickon was shocked when his parents made no mention of his ditching school or fighting another student. Not wanting to take any chances, Rickon holed himself up in his room as long as he could. As long as none of his siblings came home this weekend, he could probably get any with it until Monday.

Unfortunately, his parents were waiting to pounce. His dad brought it up at dinner Sunday night.

“So you know we’ve been summoned to see your principal tomorrow.”

Rickon looked up at his dad. Eddard Stark had lost most of his intimidation over the years, and Rickon thought he saw some softness in those gray eyes.

“I assumed so,” Rickon said, turning back to his dinner.

His mother groaned. “Why do you do this Rickon?” she asked. “I thought you’d be done acting out. What do you want from us? Do we not give you enough attention?”

“It’s not about attention,” Rickon said, throwing his head back. He briefly debated telling them about Shireen, but he decided against it. They didn’t need to know, and he didn’t want to drag her back into this.

“Then what is it, Rickon?” his dad asked. “Why do you keep doing this?”

Staying still for another minute, Rickon tried to think of something else that would justify his actions. Parameters had been set, though, and Rickon knew the consequences.

“Who cares?” Rickon said. “I’ll just go away again. No one’s going to care.”

With that, Rickon got up from the table and stormed off to his room, locking the door behind him. Shaggydog was lying on his bed and Rickon climbed up next to him. He couldn’t just leave, even if his parents sent him away. He couldn’t let Shireen deal with Ramsay Bolton. She probably didn’t know how. He should’ve waited until school ended. Or called Sansa and asked her about what to do.

But, no. He had thrown a punch, and now everything was going to be screwed up at school, with his parents, with Shireen…  
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found her name. He really wanted to call her and tell her that he was sorry for everything he caused. She probably didn’t realize that he put his number in her phone though. And he didn’t want to seem like a creep.

Instead, Rickon went to sleep early, dreading the outcome of the morning.

\--

The drive to school with both his parents was dead silent.

Rickon hadn’t brought anything with him. He assumed he’d be sent away immediately after the meeting anyway. There was no point.

They were ushered into the principal’s office, where Mr. Cerwyn would meet with them in a few minutes. Rickon took a seat in between his parents and prepared himself for the worst.

“Mr. and Mrs. Stark, thank you for meeting with me today,” Mr. Cerwyn said, walking in and seating himself behind his desk. “I take it you are aware of your child’s violent behavior last week.” 

Catelyn nodded. “Yes, we were informed.”

“And you’ve taken no action to correct this problem?”

Rickon couldn’t help but feel like the “problem” in this situation was him, not his behavior. Biting his tongue, Rickon tried not to talk back to the principal. Rickon wasn’t a problem. He was sure of it.

“Has Rickon told of the other infraction he made?” Mr. Cerwyn prompted. “Rickon, why don’t you tell them about the language you used on Friday?”

Rickon rolled his eyes. If he was going to get in trouble for it, he’d at least make it worth it. “What I called Ramsay, or what I called you?”

Mr. Cerwyn narrowed his eyes at Rickon. “Both.”

Rickon could see both of his parents shaking their heads, but he went on anyway. “Well, I definitely called Ramsay a fuckface and told him that his face looks like a dick,” Rickon said, feigning thought. “I may have also called him a fucking idiot. Then, you came, and I’m pretty sure I called you a dick before I called both of you assholes.”

Catelyn looked scandalized. “Rickon!”

Rickon really didn’t see the problem with his language. He was the youngest of six kids. If Robb started swearing at sixteen, then Rickon started hearing it at five. If anything, that was definitely his parents’ fault. And Rickon had only told them the truth.

“I have done you the favor of printing out Rickon’s records, so you can take him somewhere this behavior can be corrected,” Mr. Cerwyn went on, handing his dad a folder. 

Rickon was staring at a paper clipped to the outside of it and bit back a smile. His grades were posted there. All of his failing classes had magically turned into straight As. If anything, Shireen worked fast. He’d have to find a way to thank her later.

The door opened behind him. Rickon turned around to see the receptionist trying to close the door, but Shireen squeezed through under his arm. Behind her was a tall, stern man with cold calculating eyes.

The first thing Rickon noticed was that Shireen was wearing a dress. It took everything in him not to stare at her legs, and then his eyes went straight to hers.

“Excuse me, sir,” the man said. “But my daughter has informed me that you are having an unjust meeting, and I have come to bring order.”

“Your input is not needed, Mr. Baratheon,” Mr. Cerwyn said. “We are just about done here.”

Shireen opened her mouth to interject, but her father silenced her with a hand on her shoulder. “You have decided to punish this boy because of his violent behavior that was a reaction to verbal abuse that my daughter was subjected to,” Mr. Baratheon said. “That is indeed my business.”

Rickon glanced over to his parents. They both had grown tense, and their eyes looked murderous. You didn’t talk about abuse in the Stark household, and if you did, you didn’t mention it lightly. Not after what happened to Sansa.

“Excuse me?” Catelyn asked.

“The boy, Ramsay Snow, who I couldn’t help but notice is absent at this meeting was spewing insults at my daughter,” Mr. Baratheon went on. “And she mentioned that you simply excused that behavior and told her to get over it?”

Mr. Cerwyn’s jaw dropped. “I can assure you that I –”

“I’ll hear none of it,” Mr. Baratheon said.

Shireen crossed her arms. “Rickon cannot be punished,” she said simply. “He was the only one who thought it appropriate to defend me.”

Rickon was trying not to grin at Shireen. Here she was several inches shorter than everyone in the room and commanding everyone’s attention.

“You will excuse him of any charges,” Shireen went on. “And I expect you to have a faculty meeting to discuss how to deal with such behavior in the future, as well as asking them to stop looking for reasons to punish certain people.”

Rickon wanted to kiss her – if not for previous reasons, then for this spectacular display.

Mr. Cerwyn was at a loss for words. “I – I shall certainly take the necessary actions,” he said finally.

“And I expect a report that you have done so,” Catelyn said. “No student should suffer for your incompetence.”

“I will see to it,” Mr. Cerwyn said weakly.

“Then, we are done here,” Ned said, standing up and ending all conversation. He left the room, escorting Catelyn outside. Rickon followed after them. “Why didn’t you tell us what happened?” Ned asked his son.

“Would you have believed me?” Rickon asked back.

“Maybe if you actually told us what happened at school,” Catelyn said.

Shireen stepped between them and went straight up to Rickon. “Where are your school supplies?” she asked.

Rickon resisted the urge to stare down at her legs and tried to make steady contact with her eyes. He lost his train of thought.

Shireen raised her eyebrows at him. “You have an English test right now,” she said, handing him a pencil. “And you’re late.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rickon said, taking the pencil. “I’ll be on my way.”

“A moment, if you would,” Mr. Baratheon called.

Rickon froze. Of course, Mr. Baratheon probably noticed the way Rickon was staring at his daughter. Rickon prepared himself for a verbal lashing.

“If you continue to pursue my daughter, I expect nothing but proper behavior regarding any future relationship,” Mr. Baratheon said, staring at Rickon. Then, he turned to Ned. “If anything your eldest done happens here, you should expect consequences.”

Rickon glanced at his dad who was turning red. 

“I promise I will treat your daughter with all the respect she deserves,” Rickon said, trying to meet Mr. Baratheon’s eyes, but he looked over to Shireen.

Shireen looked slightly flushed. “Your test?” she prompted.

Rickon nodded quickly, turning from the group and running to his English class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Almost to the end of this one. Thank you for all the lovely comments. They keep me writing when I don't feel like it.


	5. Chapter 5

Rickon never thought that he would enjoy sleeping through lunch so much. He had planned on looking for Shireen, but he figured that she deserved some time to herself. Besides, he was still hoping that she’d show up at detention again. Resting against his backpack, he thought about what he should even say to Shireen.

Was it still too early to tell her how he felt? Was her display in the principal’s office enough to prove that she had feelings for him as well? Rickon needed to do something. He was tired of being so passive where Shireen was involved. Not to mention he was beginning to feel legitimately stupid whenever he was near her.

There was time. He had until school ended to figure everything out.

“Are you hiding from me, or do you always spend your lunches out here?”

He didn’t have any time.

Rickon sat up slowly, looking at Shireen. She had a small smile on her face, and her eyes seemed to be shining. Rickon tried to admire her legs without others watching him, but Shireen took a seat next to him. She was looking at him expectantly. Right. She had asked him a question.

“I’m usually out here,” Rickon said. “Don’t have many friends, exactly.”

“Is that because of your lovely attitude?” Shireen asked, moving closer to him.

“Maybe,” Rickon said, biting back a smile. He was pretty sure that Shireen was flirting with him, and he loved every minute of it.

“Well, it can probably get better soon,” Shireen said. She was playing with the hem of her skirt, and Rickon was trying really hard not to stare.

“Why’s that?” Rickon asked, forcing himself to stare at her eyes. That was better than watching her skirt, right?

Shireen met his gaze. “No more detention,” she said. “It’s been taken care of.”

Rickon decided to take a leap of faith. “I was kind of enjoying our times together,” he said. “I got to know you really well.”

“Only kind of?” Shireen asked.

Okay, she was definitely teasing him.

Rickon bit his lip. “Well, I was hoping that we could keep doing it,” Rickon said slowly.

“Keep doing what, exactly?” Shireen asked.

“Keep getting to know you,” Rickon said, gaining confidence.

Shireen gave him a smile. “Well, you have unlocked my tragic backstory,” she said. “If you’re interested.”

Rickon’s heart was pounding in his chest. He knew there was some time for flirting, but he couldn’t take much more. “I’d rather get to know other parts of you,” he said.

Shireen feigned innocence. “Like what?”

“Your lips.”

Shireen froze. And Rickon tried to think fast. Had he taken it too far? Was she not expecting that? Did he need to do something else first? Maybe he should change directions.

“Um, or I could just –” he faltered.

The bell rang.

Rickon resisted the urge to swear. When he looked up at Shireen, she was grinning at him.

“We can see what happens after school,” Shireen said. She stood up and grabbed her backpack.

Rickon nodded dumbly. “Wait, how will I find you?”

Shireen held up her phone. “I seem to have magically obtained your phone number,” she said, winking at him.

Rickon stared after her for far too long before he finally rushed off to class. He was distracted for the rest of the day. She had definitely been flirting with him, right? And if not, then she was definitely teasing him at least. Rickon couldn’t think. What was it about Shireen that made his brain so fuzzy? Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t attraction. Maybe she was just bad for him.

He needed to stop. He was definitely over-thinking things. And there was definitely something wrong with him. Rickon just needed to stop trying to flirt with Shireen and just tell her how he feels. It couldn’t possibly end that poorly.

Rickon was banging his head against his locker when his phone started ringing. It was Shireen, and he wasn’t ready for this. He spent his last few hours trying to compose something that made sense for him to say to Shireen but nothing was sounding right. He answered the phone anyway.

“Hey.”

“Where are you?”

“My locker.”

“I’ll be there in a second.”

She hung up before Rickon could say anything. Rickon resumed the banging of his head. He was so stupid. What could he possibly say to make Shireen actually like him?

“What are you doing?”

Rickon snapped around, hitting his head again in the process. “Um, I was just trying to think,” he said.

“And hitting your head helps with that?” Shireen asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Rickon groaned. “It helps a lot more than seeing you in a dress,” he said.

“I’m sorry?” Shireen took a step away from him.

“That’s not what I meant!” Rickon said quickly. He was grasping for ends now. This was not going to work. He decided to go for Plan B. He dug through his backpack quickly, and handed her a bag of cookies.

“What’s this?” Shireen asked, looking more confused than ever.

“Chocolate chip cookies,” Rickon mumbled. “I made them for you over the weekend since I never got to give you one during detention. I just thought that homemade cookies would taste better.”

“Are you rambling?” Shireen asked, cutting him off.

Rickon turned around and hit his head against his locker three more times. Maybe words just wouldn’t work. Rickon turned back to Shireen. She was staring back at him with a questioning look on her face. This was going to take a lot of explaining. Fuck it.

Rickon grabbed onto Shireen's wrist, pulling her toward him. Before he could convince himself that it was a bad idea, he pressed his lips against hers. And it was everything he wanted and more. Rickon sighed against her mouth, feeling the rough edge that wasn’t unpleasant at all. It was just her.

Shireen placed her hands flat on Rickon’s chest and pushed him slightly away. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked softly.

Rickon winced internally. Maybe he should have convinced himself not to do it.

“It’s just that I’m definitely going to graduate,” she said. “And I’ll be at college, and you’ll be here, and I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. But I’m definitely interested in this, whatever this is, as long as you don’t mind…”

A huge grin spread across Rickon’s face. She wasn’t rejecting him. She just didn’t want him to reject him like her ex had. Rickon placed his hands on her hips.

“I’m not afraid of long-distance,” he said, pulling her slightly closer.

Shireen shrugged and gripped her hands into his shirt. “Well, in that case…”

She grabbed onto Rickon’s shirt and pulled him down, crashing their lips together. Rickon let his hands slide around her back and held her against him. Shireen’s hands found their way into his hair, pulling him even closer. Rickon let out a small noise into her mouth, and he felt her shaking with laughter.

Rickon broke the kiss. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You’re like a puppy,” she said through her laughter.

Rickon rolled his eyes. “I’ve turned into my dog, haven’t I?” he asked. “I should probably treat you like he did, right?”

Shireen looked confused, and Rickon leaned down to plant a kiss firmly on her grayed cheek. When he moved back, she was thoroughly flushed.

“I – I never… you didn’t have to… No one’s ever…”

Rickon kissed her cheek again.

“It’s not exactly… I mean, it’s…”

Rickon kissed her again. She was more flustered from a kiss on the cheek than one on her lips.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Shireen asked, pulling away from him.

Rickon’s face was being taken over by a grin. “You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Rickon said. “And you get flustered like that for some reason.”

“I do not get –”

Rickon kissed her cheek.

Shireen let out a few incoherent sounds.

“Yup,” Rickon said, licking his lips. “Works every time.”

Shireen’s face was turning red. “You only tried four times,” she mumbled.

“I suppose you could beat me out percentage-wise,” Rickon said. “But that would mean that I have to keep testing it out.”

“I guess if you want to,” Shireen said, prompting Rickon to kiss her on the cheek again. “Would you stop that?”

“Nope,” Rickon said. “I think you like it.”

Shireen glared at him. “You realize you’ll have to talk to my dad, right?”

Rickon nodded slowly. “I can handle it.” Seeing Shireen’s questioning look, he added, “If it means getting to spend more time with you, then I’ll do anything.”

\--

Rickon was staring to doubt his abilities to handle Mr. Baratheon. They weren’t even speaking. Rickon was just in the doorway of their house, letting his self be subjected to the intense stare of Mr. Stannis Baratheon. Where Shireen’s eyes were bright and full of life, Mr. Baratheon’s were cold and calculating. Rickon was struggling to hold his resolve.

“Daddy, is Rickon here?” Shireen’s voice came from inside the house.

Rickon forced himself to keep staring at Mr. Baratheon. He wanted to search for Shireen, but he felt like he was being tested. After another minute, Mr. Baratheon held out a hand.

“Stannis,” he said simply.

Rickon took his hand and prayed that he still had a strong handshake.

Stannis bowed his head the slightest bit and stepped aside. Shireen was standing behind him with her arms crossed. “You’re scaring him,” she said.

Shireen was in a pretty blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly. Rickon resisted the urge to pull at his tie, which he had definitely chosen because it matched her eyes. Shireen smiled at him and walked over, holding out a hand to him. She pulled him inside. “Hi, Rickon.”

Steeling himself, Rickon pressed a kiss onto her cheek. He had taken to greeting her this way. It always threw her off, and Rickon really liked her knowing that he didn’t care about it. He hadn’t even asked about it in the past week.

“Um… I have… we made… dinner… there’s food,” Shireen sputtered out, turning bright red.

Rickon couldn’t keep a stupid smile from spreading across his face.

“We have dinner prepared,” Stannis said, giving his daughter a confused look.

“What he said,” Shireen squeaked out.

“Dinner sounds excellent,” Rickon said. “Thank you very much.”

Surprisingly, dinner with Shireen and her dad went smoothly. Rickon made amiable conversation with the two of them. No one mentioned anything about Rickon’s few years at correction school or asked why he had been sent there. Rickon considered it a success. He even remembered all of his proper table manners thanks to rushed call to Sansa a few hours ago. He made a mental note to thank her later.

“So Rickon,” Stannis said, giving him a slightly more intimidating glare. “You are interested in pursuing a relationship with my daughter?”

Rickon glanced over to Shireen before responding. “Yes,” he said slowly. “I asked her if she wanted to, and she said yes. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of our decision.”

Shireen was smiling at him and nodding slowly.

Stannis wiped his mouth resolutely and put his napkin down. “You must be aware that I will expect Shireen home by midnight at the latest every night,” he said. “Also, should we have any formal gatherings to tend to, you shall escort her.”

“Dad,” Shireen warned.

“It would be my honor,” Rickon said. “I look forward to being the one to present your daughter’s beauty to the world.”

Shireen blushed as her dad nodded.

“Very good,” he said. “Then, I expect I will be seeing you around.”

Rickon swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

Stannis excused himself from the table and left the room.

Shireen was staring at Rickon with a raised eyebrow. “‘ Sir’?” she asked,

Rickon shrugged. “It sounded like the right thing to do,” he said. “And it seems like it worked.”

“I suppose you have a certain level of charm,” Shireen said. “Most people wouldn’t even dare talk to my father.”

“The reward was worth the risk,” Rickon said, trying to scoot closer to Shireen.

“I think he was especially shocked that you kissed my cheek,” Shireen went on.

Rickon pressed against her side. “Well, I couldn’t just abandon tradition,” he said. “What kind of boyfriend would I be doing that?”

Shireen giggled as he pressed his lips to her cheek again. “I suppose,” she gulped. “I guess that… I mean… you’re probably…”

Rickon had a wicked grin on his face. “What was that?”

Shireen hit him across the chest. “Your wonderful boyfriend status is going to drop if you keep teasing me like that,” she threatened.

“Is my current status at ‘wonderful’?” Rickon asked, draping an arm across her shoulders. “I thought that it might be higher considering I made you cookies.”

Shireen rolled her eyes. “Fine, you can be ‘perfect’.”

Rickon looked taken aback. “No, I can’t,” he said.

“And why’s that?” Shireen asked. “Is it because of your tragic backstory?”

“No,” Rickon said, shaking his head. “It’s because you’re perfect.”

“Rickon.”

“You are,” Rickon said, pressing a kiss solidly against her lips. “You’re perfect, and I’m yours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends it! My first fic done! I have stories planned for the other Stark children, but if you want more Rickon/Shireen, just let me know. I'm sure my brain can think up more shenanigans for these two.


End file.
